Wednesday, 19 October 2016

Great Lost Songs - Asian Dub Foundation - 'Naxalite'

I seem to recall various badly thought out political covers of Melody Maker and NME over the years. Despite no doubt good intentions, something never quite fit with the way the bands involved were being presented or, in the case of a particularly ill fated Manics / Blaggers ITA front page, some of the participants turned out to be not quite as ethical as the copy suggested as Dave Simpson of the Maker could testify.

ADF always seemed, alongside Fun-Da-Mental to give the music press a particularly severe headache. Much like the first emergence of UK Asian footballers, now thankfully in no way an exception, the idea of an Asian band operating in the alternative music scene left them treading a line between pushing the novelty button and trying to engage seriously with the issues behind the music. To a degree not much has really changed, journalists outside their comfort zones have always had presentation problems in such circumstances but what is clear is that ADF were viewed as much as being Asian as being an exhilerating, thoughtful and provocative group. As with everything I am posting I genuinely can't remember when I last heard them on a radio or read anything about them which, given that the issues they were talking about are, if anything, more prevalent now than ever, seems a damn shame.